Business meeting to consider the nominations of Caleb Orr, of Texas, to be an Assistant Secretary (Economic and Business Affairs), Kenneth Howery, of Texas, to be Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark, Callista Gingrich, of Florida, to be Ambassador to the Swiss Confederation, and to serve concurrently and without additional compensation as Ambassador to the Principality of Liechtenstein, Somers Farkas, of New York, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Malta, Leandro Rizzuto, of Florida, to be Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the Organization of American States, with the rank of Ambassador, all of the Department of State; to be immediately followed by a hearing to examine the nominations of Joel Rayburn, of Oklahoma, to be an Assistant Secretary (Near Eastern Affairs), Chris Pratt, of Utah, to be an Assistant Secretary (Political-Military Affairs), and Michael DeSombre, of Illinois, to be an Assistant Secretary (East Asian and Pacific Affairs), all of the Department of State.

Committee on Foreign Relations

2025-05-15

Source: Congress.gov

Summary

This meeting featured a comprehensive discussion on U.S. foreign policy and national security priorities, with nominees for key diplomatic roles addressing concerns across various regions. Senators pressed the nominees on issues ranging from strategic alliances and economic engagement to humanitarian crises and accountability for adversarial nations. The nominees generally committed to upholding current administration policies and collaborating with Congress, while also highlighting their past experiences and proposed approaches to complex international challenges.

Themes

Indo-Pacific Strategy and China

The discussion emphasized the importance of the Indo-Pacific region, with Somers Farkas affirming commitment to AUKUS and working with allies to counter malign activities, particularly from China. Senators expressed strong concerns about China's economic practices, technology theft, and its adversarial stance, questioning how the U.S. would hold China accountable. Farkas highlighted efforts to strengthen economic partnerships through commercial diplomacy and leveraging U.S. companies, drawing on experience as Ambassador to Thailand. The plight of Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong was raised, alongside concerns about China's violations of Hong Kong's autonomy and extensive disinformation campaigns in the Indo-Pacific, with senators questioning the U.S.'s capacity to counter these efforts. Strengthening ties with Taiwan and reversing policies that undermine its sovereignty also received significant attention.

Middle East Policy and Iran

Joel Rayburn discussed the desired outcomes of a U.S.-Iran deal, advocating for the total dismantlement of Iran's nuclear program, an end to its proxy support for terrorism, and restrictions on its ballistic missile and UAV programs. The expansion of the Abraham Accords was a key topic, with debate over whether the U.S. should drop the demand for Saudi Arabia to normalize ties with Israel as a condition for civil nuclear cooperation. Rayburn expressed confidence that Saudi-Israel normalization is inevitable due to its logical benefits for all parties.[ 00:10:27-00:10:31 ]

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 Concerns were also raised about repatriating refugees from detention camps in Syria to prevent the rise of extremism. Furthermore, there was sharp questioning regarding the Civilian Harm Incidence Response Guidance (CHERG) and the implications of the blockade on humanitarian aid to Gaza under U.S. law. Rayburn outlined a strategy for a "maximum pressure campaign" against Iran, focusing on enforcing sanctions, disrupting illicit oil transport, and politically isolating the regime.

Foreign Military Sales and Alliances

Senators highlighted significant frustrations among European allies (Denmark, Finland, Estonia) regarding the U.S. foreign military sales (FMS) process, specifically citing delays in approvals and manufacturing, which hinder their ability to build up defenses against Russian influence. Joel Rayburn committed to reviewing these issues and working with industry and the Department of Defense to streamline the process. The importance of interagency cooperation in overseas missions was discussed, with Somers Farkas citing the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Thailand as a successful example of leveraging various U.S. agencies to strengthen partnerships and promote law enforcement best practices.

Tone of the Meeting

The tone of the meeting was largely professional and structured, as is typical for confirmation hearings. Senators demonstrated a clear intent to scrutinize the nominees' positions and qualifications. There were instances of direct and pointed questioning, particularly regarding sensitive issues such as Iran policy, humanitarian aid in Gaza, and the U.S. stance on China and Taiwan, reflecting strong advocacy from certain members.[ 00:09:56-00:10:02 ]

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 The nominees generally responded by affirming their commitment to established policies, offering to review specific concerns, or explaining their current limited access to ongoing government discussions.[ 00:10:16 ]

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 Some senators expressed frustration when their direct questions were not met with equally direct answers.

Participants

Transcript

S
Somers Farkas
understanding that the administration is committed to AUKUS, and I believe it's a very important part of our Indo-Pacific strategy in a way to, as I indicated with one of my priorities, work with our allies and partners to enhance deterrence and countermalign activities of our adversaries.
J
Janet Dhillon
I appreciate that.
M
Michael Boren
I look forward to working with you on it.
J
Janet Dhillon
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
M
Michael Boren
Senator Hagerty.
K
Kenneth Howery
Thank you, Mr. Chair.  Colonel Rayburn.   I've known you as a soldier, as a gentleman, as a man whose integrity is beyond reproach.  And I am more than willing to personally vouch for your character and your integrity here today for all of my colleagues.  I am extremely troubled by any attempt to somehow use guilt by association with someone that you may have been as a soldier working with.   but certainly not responsible for comments they may have made to the media, et cetera.  You have been one of the most loyal members of the former Trump administration and made significant contributions.  I'd just like to open the floor to you.  What would you consider your greatest contribution during the first Trump administration to our national security?
J
Joel Rayburn
Senator, thank you for the opportunity to say that.  You're absolutely right.  In the first Trump administration, during the campaign for president and during the current administration, even in my capacity as a private citizen, I support the president's policies 100%.  I supported the president's policies and his ideas for America since he first announced his candidacy in 2015.  I was very proud.   of the opportunity that I had during the first Trump administration to serve on the National Security Council staff, to try to bring fresh eyes to the most critical national security problems that we faced.
K
Kenneth Howery
I would just say that one of the greatest achievements that I think President Trump could point to in his first term were the Abraham Accords, and you played a critical role there.  Could you enlighten the committee here a bit about what you can say?
J
Joel Rayburn
Absolutely, Senator.  I mean, there were many people who contributed and led on the Abraham Accords.  I was proud to play a small part, both in the run-up to the Abraham Accords and then in my role at the State Department in the Near East Bureau at the time in playing a supporting role.   including by Senator taking the necessary step of implementing the President's policy to show that we were willing to neutralize the threat from the Iranian regime in order to create the political space for our other allies and partners to make the historic agreements   to reach peace between Arab partners and our Israeli allies so that they could be confident and take the political risk that they had to take in order to make those concessions, to work with our Israeli allies, to work with our Arab partners and allies to bring that about.  I was very proud of that and still am.
K
Kenneth Howery
I am too.  When I served as ambassador, I worked very hard to get   Secondary sanctions imposed in Iran.  I did it with Japan.  We stopped their purchases of energy from Iran.  Maximum pressure actually worked.  You worked on the prosperity piece of that equation.  And the resolve that was demonstrated by America under President Trump, with your able assistance, I think made a massive contribution.  And I just want to be clear that those contributions should be viewed in light of who you are.   And certainly, any attempt to try to tie you to somebody else that is not you, someone you might have reported to because that was the chain of command that you respect as a soldier, I think is wholly inappropriate.  And again, I encourage my colleagues here in the committee to look at the fine person that's sitting before us and his qualifications as an individual.  Ambassador DeSombre.   I'd like to turn to you.  Your charge as head of East Asia Pacific Affairs, should you be confirmed, is going to be in one of the most challenging parts of the world.  I know that you've had a lot of time to consider this.  You've lived in the region.  You've worked in the region.  You understand the culture.   But I'd certainly like to get your thoughts in terms of your priorities specifically with respect to economic prosperity and how you might use that tool, LNG comes to mind, but other ideas that you may have in terms of strengthening our posture in the region.
S
Somers Farkas
Senator, thank you very much for that question.  This was indeed one of my top priorities when I was ambassador to Thailand, was to strengthen the economic partnership in Thailand and use all the toolkit that we have at our availability, which a lot of that includes the strength of our U.S.  companies and getting them to be able to find opportunities.

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